Ogden the Tavern Owner

Ogden gives new characters his standard "Thank goodness you've returned" speech, and then fades into irrelevance. He does not buy or sell anything, but gives a quest reward for one quest in singleplayer, Ogden's Sign. If the heroes in Diablo ever slept or ate, he'd be a lot more useful.

Voice Actor: Bill Roper

Contents

Thank goodness you've returned! Much has changed since you lived here, my friend. All was peaceful until the dark riders came and destroyed our village. Many were cut down where they stood, and those who took up arms were slain or dragged away to become slaves - or worse. The church at the edge of town has been desecrated and is being used for dark rituals. The screams that echo in the night are inhuman, but some of our townsfolk may yet survive. Follow the path that lies between my tavern and the blacksmith shop to find the church and save who you can.

Many adventurers have graced the tables of my tavern, and ten times as many stories have been told over as much ale. The only thing that I ever heard any of them agree on was this old axiom. Perhaps it will help you. You can cut the flesh, but you must crush the bone.

Earthen walls and thatched canopy do not a home create. The innkeeper Ogden serves more of a purpose in this town than many understand. He provides shelter for Gillian and her matriarch, maintains what life Farnham has left to him, and provides an anchor for all who are left in the town to what Tristram once was. His tavern, and the simple pleasures that can still be found there, provide a glimpse of a life that the people here remember. It is that memory that continues to feed their hopes for your success.

Ogden has owned and run the Rising Sun Inn and Tavern for almost four years now. He purchased it just a few short months before everything here went to hell. He and his wife Garda do not have the money to leave as they invested all they had in making a life for themselves here. He is a good man with a deep sense of responsibility.

Ogden is the best man in town. I don't think his wife likes me much, but as long as she keeps tappin' kegs, I'll like her just fine. Seems like I been spendin' more time with Ogden than most, but he's so good to me...

Ogden and his wife have taken me and my grandmother into their home and have even let me earn a few gold pieces by working at the inn. I owe so much to them, and hope one day to leave this place and help them start a grand hotel in the East.

The Innkeeper has little business and no real way of turning a profit. He manages to make ends meet by providing food and lodging for those who occasionally drift through the village, but they are as likely to sneak off into the night as they are to pay him. If it weren't for the stores of grains and dried meats he kept in his cellar, why, most of us would have starved during that first year when the entire countryside was overrun by demons.

I really don't understand why Ogden stays here in Tristram. He suffers from a slight nervous condition, but he is an intelligent and industrious man who would do very well wherever he went. I suppose it may be the fear of the many murders that happen in the surrounding countryside, or perhaps the wishes of his wife that keep him and his family where they are.

Ogden is a fool for staying here. I could get him out of town for a very reasonable price, but he insists on trying to make a go of it with that stupid tavern. I guess at the least he gives Gillian a place to work, and his wife Garda does make a superb Shepherd's pie...

Lazarus was the Archbishop who led many of the townspeople into the labyrinth. I lost many good friends that day, and Lazarus never returned. I suppose he was killed along with most of the others. If you would do me a favor, good master - please do not talk to Farnham about that day.

Let me just say this. Both Garda and I would never, EVER serve black mushrooms to our honored guests. If Adria wants some mushrooms in her stew, then that is her business, but I can't help you find any. Black mushrooms... disgusting!

Master, I have a strange experience to relate. I know that you have a great knowledge of those monstrosities that inhabit the labyrinth, and this is something that I cannot understand for the very life of me... I was awakened during the night by a scraping sound just outside of my tavern. When I looked out from my bedroom, I saw the shapes of small demon-like creatures in the inn yard. After a short time, they ran off, but not before stealing the sign to my inn. I don't know why the demons would steal my sign but leave my family in peace... 'tis strange, no?

Completion

Oh, you didn't have to bring back my sign, but I suppose that it does save me the expense of having another one made. Well, let me see, what could I give you as a fee for finding it? Hmmm, what have we here... ah, yes! This cap was left in one of the rooms by a magician who stayed here some time ago. Perhaps it may be of some value to you.

The village needs your help, good master! Some months ago King Leoric's son, Prince Albrecht, was kidnapped. The King went into a rage and scoured the village for his missing child. With each passing day, Leoric seemed to slip deeper into madness. He sought to blame innocent townsfolk for the boy's disappearance and had them brutally executed. Less than half of us survived his insanity...

The King's Knights and Priests tried to placate him, but he turned against them and sadly, they were forced to kill him. With his dying breath the King called down a terrible curse upon his former followers. He vowed that they would serve him in darkness forever...

This is where things take an even darker twist than I thought possible! Our former King has risen from his eternal sleep and now commands a legion of undead minions within the Labyrinth. His body was buried in a tomb three levels beneath the Cathedral. Please, good master, put his soul at ease by destroying his now cursed form...

Return

As I told you, good master, the King was entombed three levels below. He's down there, waiting in the putrid darkness for his chance to destroy this land...

Completion

The curse of our King has passed, but I fear that it was only part of a greater evil at work. However, we may yet be saved from the darkness that consumes our land, for your victory is a good omen. May Light guide you on your way, good master.

The caravan stopped here to take on some supplies for their journey to the east. I sold them quite an array of fresh fruits and some excellent sweetbreads that Garda had just finished baking. Shame what happened to them...